After so many years of crimson dictatorship, it is hard for the world to move past the usual cliches of China: Maoist songs, tight neck uniforms, blue communist caps, and crowds of bicycles all in the land of “the happy proletariat.” What you encounter here, at first sight, is entirely different: new hip-hop music from Taiwan, blue jeans, Gucci and Calvin Klein, BMWs and Toyotas, and cut-throat capitalism, which comes totally at odds with the Beijing autocracy.

The Communist Party is still in power, constantly cosmetically altering its image and the constitution to move the country towards capitalism while keeping the economy in their hands, muzzling its people.

From the cosmopolitan city of Guangzhou to the misty peaks of the Li River in Yangshuo, you notice the fascinating diversity the country has from South to the North. In the central Buddhist part of the country, the tallest Buddha of the world welcomes the visitor in Leshan, not far from Emeishan, the holy mountain filled with Buddhist monasteries located near Chengdu, the gate to Tibet. In the North is Imperial China with the old capital of Xian, the Buddhist caves, and the temples of the Shaolin Monks. Beijing is its Imperial City. The Forbidden City, magnificent palaces, gardens, temples, and The Great Wall, mixes the old empire with its new Communist legacy. On the coast, Shanghai is the center of commerce and finance, surrounded by cities that were once visited by Marco Polo, Suzhou, and Hangzhou.